New corporation to manage Dubai properties

Dubai, June 26, 2011

Dubai has set up a corporation to own and manage all property registered in the name of the government, the state news agency Wam said on Sunday.

The new Dubai Real Estate Corporation will operate on a commercial basis and have financial and administrative independence, Wam said, citing a decree from Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The entity will be responsible for all development, purchase, sale, lease and management of these properties. No further details on the corporation or the developments to be managed were provided.

The announcement comes as developer Nakheel, which is restructuring a $10.9 billion debt, prepares to break away from its parent company Dubai World and become wholly owned by the government as part of the Dubai World debt restructuring plan.

Dubai's property sector has been hit hard in recent years with billions of dollars worth of projects put on hold or cancelled, while property prices slumped as much as 60 percent.

Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) said earlier this year it cancelled as many as 217 registered property projects over the past two years. -Reuters